12 Weird and Unusual Tips That Can Boost Weight Loss

At the outset, we would like to make it completely clear that weight loss can only be achieved by following a good diet program (such as on the Rati Beauty app) and a little bit of physical activity. Weight loss can happen by placing the body in a calorie deficit, taking in fewer calories than one can burn per day. It’s a huge misconception that you have to workout in the gym in order to lose weight where in reality, workout forms just 20% part in a successful weight loss formula, with 80% emphasis on a good diet. Needless to say, if there’s no deficit, no fat burning would happen. Without straightening out the diet, hitting the gym is completely ineffective if you are trying to get lean and slim. However, there are some tips that can help with losing weight and in this post, we list out 12 Weird and Unusual Tips That Can Boost Weight Loss.

1. Sleep in Complete Darkness: When you sleep in complete darkness at night, the body produces more of the sleep hormone “melatonin,” which in turn has a big influence on metabolism, and helps to convert white fat to brown (which more readily participates in fat burning than white fat).
2. Indulge in a Cheat Meal Once a Week: A good diet would always leave room for a cheat meal, that is once a week. Yes, you can eat whatever you want and still lose weight, but before you jump guns, just limit it to one meal, once a week. A cheat meal once a week helps to revv up metabolism, reduce cravings, and would help to stick to your weight loss diet better. So, have whatever you want, even on your diet.

3. Gently Massage your Ear Lobe: Use light pressure with your fingers to massage the area above the ear lobe, right in front of the ear canal. It is believed that massaging this pressure point helps to suppress appetite and reduce cravings.
4. Swap Dinner Plates with Heavy Bowls: Eat food from a bowl rather than a plate to control calorie intake. When you use small plates or bowls, you tend to take smaller amount of food and that would prevent you from eating more than you need. There are also studies that have found that your brain gets tricked and feels satisfied when you eat from a bowl than from a plate. You would feel full when you eat from a small bowl with the same quantity of food that you eat from a larger plate. Also, the bowl’s weight in hand will give you the feeling that you are consuming more food. So, dump that plate and pick a heavy bowl to have your food in.
5. Turn the Spice Factor in your Food: Capsaicin is a compound found in red pepper, cayenne pepper etc., that causes thermogenesis in the body which causes more calorie burn. Capsaicin targets brown fat and turns up the metabolism by activating brown fat. Capsaicin is the active ingredient/phytochemical in chilli peppers, capsicum. Cayenne pepper is usually available in dry or powder form. Apart from capsaicin, it also has a good amount of vitamin C, vitamin A and potassium. Scientists say cayenne seems to rev metabolism when consumed in food.
6. Sleep with Low Temperatures on the Air Conditioner: Research has found that short-term cold exposure helps to burn brown fat in the body, which is needed to maintain thermogenesis and regulation of body temperature. Brown fat burning gets activated upon exposure to cold for a short time. When brown fat burns calories, it also results in reduction of insulin resistance, and regulation of appetite.
7. Eat your Meal Before a Mirror: This is probably the weirdest trick you might have ever heard. Eating in a front of a mirror can help you have a control over unhealthy foods and avoid binge eating. Try it for yourself!
8. Sniff Vanilla Scents When you Crave for Sugar: Love the scent of vanilla? Here’s the reason to love it more! If you light vanilla-scented candles in your room, you may not feel the need to frequently snack on high-calorie food.
9. Wear your Belt Tight: Wearing your belt tight can help you eat less because of the uncomfortable feeling one gets after eating beyond a certain point.
10. Eat from Blue Plates: Studies have revealed that blue is an appetite-suppressant color. Experts advice people who want to lose weight to eat from a blue plate to eat food out of because less food is eaten due to the nature of the color. Come to think of it, there are hardly one or two food items that are blue colored and that’s why they do not stimulate food-related activity in the brain. Our ancestors, when hunting for food, used to avoid black and blue colored food because they were usually poisonous. Since we first eat with our eyes, appearance of food triggers hormonal response and neurons are immediately set off in the hypothalamus region of the brain, which leads to hormonal release in the human body. That’s why most junk food is colorful in nature, to appeal our senses and to trigger our brains into wanting them.
11. Eat from Less Dominant Hand: Try eating with the hand you use less or your non-dominant hand because when you eat with the opposite hand, it would make the hand-mouth coordination a little harder, and you would automatically eat mindfully and cut down the calorie intake drastically.
12. Brush your Teeth with a Mint Toothpaste: Brush your teeth immediately after dinner with a minty toothpaste and this habit would trick your brain into thinking that you are getting ready for sleep instead of giving it room enough to eat another snack later in the night. Mint-flavoured toothpastes make all foods taste bad, if you don’t believe us, try it for yourself!